Painfully Senseless
by The Black Annihilators
Summary: First story in a joint account between Heather Lee Magneon and thebonkersvampireofdoom. Exploring the unpleasant childhood of Jane and Alec, from where they discover their strange powers up till when they are burnt at the stake for supposed witchcraft.
1. Chapter 1

**AN- This chapter is the first in a story about the short human life's of Jane and Alec. Myself, 'ThebonkersvampireofDoom' and 'Heather Lee Magneson' are on this joint account, and this is the first story we are collaborating our efforts to. We both feel that many of the minor characters, the Volturi in particular, have many undeveloped stories and we both thought that Jane and Alec's would be a good place to start. Please note that all pms and reviews to this account will come to me first, so if you get a reply, it's more likely to be from me rather than Heather, but that's not to say she won't be able to see any feedback we get;) Anyway, here goes first chapter. Jane and Alec are four years old in this, and discover their supernatural human abilities for the first time. Enjoy : ) **

A small village in Italy, 17th century

The sound of children's delightful squeals and contagious laughter filled the orchard at the centre of the village. Grunts and groans were also adding into the mix of the noise, but it was mostly the sounds of happy children, doing what they did best. Playing, and in this case, playing pretend fights.

'Mush his eyes out!' a small, high pitched voice called out, away from the action. In the centre of the orchard, two small boys were taking turns in grabbing each other's limbs. It was merely feeble pinches they were giving each other, but it was enough to raise a pandonium of giggling and cheering from the four other four year olds congregated around the two boys fighting. For the next ten minutes, the pinching and pushing continued, until one of them kicked the other's ankle from behind, causing him to fall face first into the now muddy grass. The gardeners were not going to be too happy about the brown mess in the centre of the lawn, but these children were too busy jumping up and down in excitement about the climax the fight had reached to worry about the mess they had created. The boy who had fallen was now underneath the triumphant boy's foot. He stood in a melodramatic manner, with his hands raised above his head and one of his feet weighing on his opponents back. He looked around with a smug, victorious expression.

'Yay! My Alec won!' a small girl with light brown hair gushed, jumping up and down enthusiastically even more than the other three spectators.

'It was easy', the boy who had won, Alec, said, smiling at the girl, 'Do you want to fight me next, Jane?'

'But she's your twin. You can't fight her', a voice called from the ground, still giggling despite the fact he had been defeated.

'Shut up Leonardo. I will fight her as soon as I have put a curse on you', Alec said with playful superiority in his tone. The others all fell silent and waited with great anticipation for Alec to put his pretend curse on Leonardo. Alec slowly removed his foot from Leonardo's back and moved round so that he still faced him but had his back to the others. He took a long, deep breath, and bellowed as best as his age would allow his made up curse.

'Leonardo, I, Alec, have defeated you. I now put a curse on you so that you will be blind forever!'

While the rest of the children started cheering and clapping enthusiastically, Leonardo, who should have been giggling the most, remained silent. He realised something was wrong as soon as Alec had finished putting his pretend spell on him. It was only now that he had begun to realise exactly what it was. Though he was certain he had his eyes open, he couldn't see the green grass and the others cheering. He could hear them though, and that was what confused him. He thought me might have some mud in his eyes, though mud was brown; all he could see was black. He blinked a few times, nothing happened. He did it again, screwing his eyes up this time. That didn't work either. It was only then that it occurred to him that Alec's supposedly made up curse, had actually worked; he was well and truly blind. Then, as panic began to engulf him, he did the natural thing; he screamed.

The others, who had been practically worshipping Alec, leapt into the air at the sudden horror filled screaming that filled the air. Alec, who had been thoroughly enjoying his glory, realised that the cheering had subsided, and all that was to be heard was screaming. He lowered his eyes, and with an element of shock, saw that it was Leonardo's screaming that had silenced everybody.

'I CAN'T SEE! I'M BLIND!' Leonardo gasped and squirmed around and was desperately fumbling around with his hands on the ground. With horror filled realisation that it was his fault, Alec racked his brain to find a means of reversing the curse. Almost immediately, the screaming subsided, and Leonardo was on his feet. His brown eyes glared at Alec with pure rage. Alec froze on the spot, paralysed by fear. He knew that Leonardo and he were going to have another fight, but this time it wasn't just going to be two children playing around; Leonardo really meant to hurt Alec, badly.

Leonardo stood very still for a few seconds, his nostrils flaring, his fingers clawed, his jaw clenched. The children were totally silent, five scared witless, one crazed with fury.

'DAMN YOU!' Leonardo roared, and then raised his fist towards Alec. Jane, who had been staring at the scene with her heart pounding, immediately began to fear for her brother's safety. She wanted to go up and hurt Leonardo, to punish him for even thinking about hurting her twin brother. However, before she or anyone, or even Alec, could react, Leonardo's body jerked, let out a yelp, then fell to the floor in a heap. Her mind still focused on hurting Leonardo, she took advantage of his now vulnerable position and stepped a few paces forward. Every step she took nearer, Leonardo's body jerked more violently, his screams grew louder and more agonising, and the eyes of Alec and the other's grew wider and more horrified. Jane however, found Leonardo's pain enjoyable, and as she worked out it was how near she was that made his pain intensify, she walked even closer, forcing Leonardo to produce screams that may have come from a man that had been hit by lightning, and the jerking became more consistent.

'Jane!' Alec called out, distracting her from Leonardo. In the split second she had jerked her head away to look at Alec, and then back again to Leonardo, he had managed to spring to his feet. For a few moments he stared at the twins with a mixture of disbelief and horror on his face, and then his face started to crumple. He turned away and started running in the direction of his home. No doubt he was going to see his mother. He'll tell her everything. Jane and Alec nervously glanced at each other, and then together turned around to face the other three. They were staring at the twins in a deafening silence, their eyes wide and filled with the same fear and disbelief Leonardo's had been. Then, without much warning, one of the started to scream. He turned and fled from the orchard, the other two following in the same manner. The twins stared after them for a few minutes, then turned and looked at each other. Jane, stood facing Alec with fear in her eyes for a few moments, began to shake, and her bottom lip began to quiver. Despite the sudden icy chill that had entered the soft breeze, Alec removed his tatty jacket and placed it in Jane's slightly outstretched arms. Rather than putting it on, she grasped it with her bony fingers, and buried her face into it, hiding the tears that had begun to trickle down her face. However, this did not fool Alec. He placed both his arms around his sister's frail shoulders comfortingly, and leant his head on hers. He was scared and confused too, but he didn't tend to show his emotions as much as Jane.

'Alec', Jane sobbed into his jacket 'I'm scared', Alec didn't say anything, just pulled his arms tighter around his sister, and let a small tear escape from his own terrified eyes. That was the novelty of being twins; they didn't have to say much to each other to be able to communicate. So even tough Alec remained silence, Jane knew better.

By the next morning, the entire village had been informed about the incident, and so began the miserable chain of events that were to happen to the twins in the years to come.

**AN- So, did you like? Please give us some feedback. And be warned, since this is a joint effort between two people on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean, there may be a while in between updates. Replies should be rather punctual, though : )**


	2. First Encounter

**Disclaimer: We do not own these amazing characters.**

**Sorry it took me so long to update.**

In the morning that followed the Leonardo incident, the whole village was whispering about it. Fear had been struck into the hearts of every citizen. But none would dare take action. They still had mercy, considering their age. Their parents kept them under house arrest for the village's safety. Jane and Alec were lost to demons as far as they were concerned.

"No!" Jane cried as Alec and her were locked in their room. Alec stared with a numb expression as his sister wept at the locked door.

In that moment, it became them against the world. Their family no longer wanted anything to do with them. Truly, all they had was each other. Alec suddenly got an idea. He pulled some clothes out from under his bed.

"Here!" He tossed her the clothes. "Let's get out of here." He clasped his hands to lift her through the window. He lifted her out and the got out himself.

"This way!" He whispered unnecessarily, darting to an empty alleyway. He took his clothes from her and began to change. She finally understood and did the same.

"What are we going to do Alec?" Jane asked her brother. He smiled at her, motioning for her to be silent and follow him.

They entered the square again, heading to the lone food merchant. Alec very well knew they didn't have any money. But they had these gifts. He smiled to himself, slipping two apples into his cloak as he made the merchant blind.

"Hey!" The merchant yelled. "I know you two are there!" Alec pushed Jane back as the old man stumbled towards them, knocking his fruit over. Alec accidentally let the blindness lift as him and his sister cowered on the ground.

Out of no where, another man appeared behind the merchant.

"These children are stealing!" He shouted to the stranger. The stranger grabbed the merchant by the shoulders and dragged him to the nearest alley. Jane and Alec were frozen as they listened to the merchant scream. They were becoming garbled, his thrashing growing more intense. Like he was drowning.

They listened to him be tortured for five minutes. Then it became silent. The stranger had killed him and was disposing of all of the collateral. He knew Jane and Alec would tell no one. And they would be with him soon enough. But how he loathed waiting.

**My apologies for the shortness, R&R.**


	3. Icy Stranger

**AN- sorry it took so long to update. Please Rand R. I don't own Twilight;)**

**After the merchant run-in, even though he was dead, the twins knew that no matter how hard they tried to disguise themselves, they'd be recognised. For a few hours, both of them wandered, hand in hand, through dark alleyways and deadly quiet streets until they stumbled across an old wooden hut, lopsided and rotten, but with a roof still intact. It was safer than the streets; no one would think to look for them there.**

"**In here", Alec pulled his sister towards the door. Two of the five wooden panels had broken partially broken off, whilst the other three had parts that were very badly rotten. Timidly, Alec pushed it open. He couldn't see inside, but from the damp, musty smell, he guessed that it was very wet.**

"**It smells wet", he said to Jane in a disgusted tone. Nethertheless, Jane pushed passed him and stepped inside. **

"**It is wet", she called back at him, her voice echoing slightly. He could here her feet splash through puddles, and the regular drip of water in several places. Deciding that it was safe, Alec stepped in himself. The musty, dank air overwhelmed him and he fell to his knees violently coughing.**

"**It told so", Jane said, standing in front of her brother with a cocky grin on her face. Alec finished coughing and glanced up at her, glaring.**

"**Humph", he grunted, pushing himself to his feet and scowling at his sister with his arms folded. Jane, who was completely unfazed with the disgusting odour, stood her ground and giggled at Alec, who eventually came out of his mood and joined his sister in her laughter. Despite all that was going on, even thought the whole town was probably after them, they could still find something to laugh about. In the coming years of the twins' lives, this was one of the few happy memories that they would cherish.**

**Of course, the happy atmosphere was soon put to an end by a sudden loud bang coming from the roof. Startled, both of them froze and jerked their heads upwards, gazing wide eyed with fear into the darkness; the unknown.**

"**Alec", Jane urgently whispered. He didn't show any signs that he had heard her, but she continued regardless, "What was that?" there was another clang, this time much nearer. Jane leaped and screamed, clinging onto Alec's arm so hard that her dirty, ragged fingernails broke the skin in parts of his forearm. Alec however, didn't notice the warm trickles of blood that had began to seep down his arm and began to pool in his palm, nor his sister's frantic gasps. He was so afraid that he couldn't move, he was literally paralysed by fear, he didn't dare breathe.**

**It was silent for a few minutes, almost too silent, and then a loud splash of water came from directly behind them. Water leaped up onto their backs, soaking them through and through. Jane stopped gasping, and clung onto Alec's arm even tighter. The only movement Alec made was open his brown eyes even further than they were already. Neither of the moved, even breathed. **

**Nothing happened for a few minutes, and then the sound of footsteps coming from behind them echoed around the room, around the twins' minds. The footsteps carried on for a few seconds, coming closer and closer. Alec and Jane were now totally paralysed by fear; someone or something was right behind them. They thought they had been found out, that the villagers wanted to sneak up on them and lock them up again. They would be under even tighter security, since they had already escaped. But what puzzled them both was that whoever this was, seemed to be showing no signs of making a grab for them; wasn't that what they would do, before they could escape? In fact, ever since they had stopped walking, neither of the twins could hear any breathing, though they were sure that the stranger was right behind them. It was as though no one was there.**

**After a few minutes of total silence, long, bony fingers reached out over Jane's right shoulder, slowly, eerily. It took her a few seconds to register it but when she caught the white hand hovering over her shoulder, she squealed and let go of Alec's arm, causing him to jump out of his skin. Instinctively, they both bolted for the door as fast as they could; which wasn't very fast. However, the stranger had somehow managed to get in front of them, without them even noticing. It was literally as though he had just appeared out of thin air. The twins came to an abrupt stop, causing them both to fall back into the puddles that littered the ground. They both reached out for each other in the darkness, screaming and desperately trying to regain their footing. Suddenly, a block of ice grasped each of their shoulders, and they were both pushed into the wet floor with such a force that no matter how hard they struggled, they couldn't budge. They quickly gave up and lay on the ground facing each other with wide, horror filled eyes. **

"**Stay here, I'll come and get you at dusk", a light, feathery male voice whispered almost inaudibly. Before Jane or Alec had had time to comprehend what was said, the blocks of ice left their shoulders, and the door creaked open. Within seconds, he was gone.**

**Alec was the first to sit up. He rose cautiously, darting his eyes around in the darkness, his breathing uneven. He fixed his gaze toward the door. It was slightly open, so he could see outside. But all he could see was overgrown vegetation, no sign of any man being there. **

"**He's gone", Alec breathed, still staring at the doorway. Jane sat up and looked out the same direction as her brother. Expecting to see the man wandering off into the distance, she was surprised to see that there was no sign of anyone.**

"**But he was here only a few seconds ago", she whispered, furrowing her brow in confusion, "How did he get away so fast?" Alec turned to look at his sister, who looked at him in turn. **

"**At least he didn't sound like a villager", Jane stated, more to herself than to Alec, "His voice is funny".**

"**I think he really wants to help us", Alec said. Jane nodded in agreement.**

"**And if he doesn't, we don't have much to loose", she stood up and helped her brother to his feet. They both stared out of the door thoughtfully for a few minutes, already anticipating dusk. There was no need for Alec to answer, for Jane already knew he thought the same.**


	4. Chapter 4

We don't own Twilight J

Alec and Jane had never felt more alone and frightened in their entire lives.

They stood at frozen in their makeshift hideout in absolute silence. They were hardly breathing. Both of them were frozen with terrifying anticipation, having no idea what the ghost wanted. Jane was imagining horrors of the darkest kind. Alec was trying not to be scared, for his sister.

Aro was seconds away, ghosting through the allies. He had told no lies. It was now dusk. He entered the hut, not making a sound. If the children hadn't been watching the door, they would not have noticed him. His pale skin glowed ever so slightly in the dark.

"My children." he said softly, but loud enough for them to hear. Both Alec and Jane stayed rigid. "I come with a compromise of sorts."

"What do you want?" Alec asked warily.

"Show me your talents." Aro said bluntly. Just then, Marcus and Caius strode in with two very frightened looking humans. One for Jane. One for Alec. "Show us your talents." He corrected himself.

"That's hardly a compromise." Jane countered. Caius' lip curled over his teeth. She conceded instantly, ready to show them what she could do. She stepped forward, near the larger human, prepared for a challenge. She tilted her head, gazing at him with innocent eyes. For a reason beyond the man, he had to look away. When he did that, he cried out in pain, writhing within Marcus" hold. A few snaps showed that that movement had no doubt broken his arms. Marcus dropped him, uninterested. Aro laughed, absolutely delighted.

"What a promising young child!" he laughed again, so very pleased he found these two. Alec gathered that it was now his turn. Not to be upstaged, he was going to try to blind the whole room, other than his sister. He focused and again, Aro was very happy with the twins.

"You will have to wait for them." Caius said, gladly ruining Aro's mood. Aro sighed.

"Yes. I know. But imagine what we can do once they are ours." Caius simply nodded at Aro's statement. Jane and Alec were confused by this exchange.

"The compromise?" Alec pressed.

"Ah, yes." Aro said, stepping out of his reverie. "We can give you safe shelter and food if you promise fealty to us. No one will hurt you." He elaborated.

"Fealty?" Alec questioned. He didn't like the sound of that, especially since he didn't know who these people were or what it meant to them. Aro crouched before him.

"You have nothing to fear with us." Aro reassured. Alec nodded, still wary. "the cavern is to the north of your village. There you will be safe and supplied." All three of them left then, draggin the humans with them. Alec looked to Jane.

"I suppose we must find this hideout." With that, they left.


End file.
